2010 Goosebumps Organ Concert
is scheduled for Saturday, October 30, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

2009 Concert:

Goosebumps Organ Concert and Electronic Light Show
Saturday, October 31, 2009 | 7:00 PM
— Timothy Spelbring, Organist —

A free concert benefit: all donations will go to Springfield's Salvation Army. — to be held at First Presbyterian Church of Springfield, 321 South Seventh Street, Springfield
Reception will follow. 

Electronic lighting effects and dramatic dance will heighten the atmosphere at this extraordinary Halloween and All Saints' organ concert. Splendidly evocative (and even a little spooky!) classics, filled with staccato chords and deep swelling tones, will emerge from the Brombaugh Opus 35 pipe organ at the skilled touch of organist Timothy Spelbring. The musical selections will include: Toccata and Fugue in D minor, J.S. Bach; Phantom of the Opera (Overture) - Andrew Lloyd Webber; Fugue in C (Gigue Fugue), Dieterich Buxtehude; Rhosymedre - Ralph Vaughan Williams; and pieces by composers Widor among others. 

Lighting artist Stephen Tankersley will add his special effects to accentuate and bring to life the rich music, and choreographer Elizabeth Cheney of Springfield Dance has created interpretive movement (with ethereal costuming by Rochester High School and Springfield Ballet) to round out a magical experience of light, sound, and expressive dance to celebrate the triumph of good over evil.

We invite you to dress for the concert — all in black, all in white, in costume — in order to participate more fully in the sensations of this unique experience.  The concert itself is free, but we will gladly accept donations to benefit the Springfield Salvation Army.

— about the artists—
Timothy Spelbring is currently a doctoral candidate in organ performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studies organ with Dana Robinson and harpsichord with Charlotte Mattax-Moersch. He is also a graduate of the Yale School of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Martin Jean and David Boe respectively. Additional teachers include Rudolf Zuiderveld of Illinois College and David Higgs of the Eastman School of Music. 

Spelbring has received numerous awards, including the Paul Manz Scholarship, the Selby Houston prize (awarded at Oberlin), and the E. Stanley Seder Prize (awarded at Yale). In 2001, he served as the concert scholar for the Westfield Center, an organization devoted to the advancement of classical keyboard music, and he performed recitals nationally on their behalf. A church musician, Timothy currently serves as organist at First Presbyterian Church in Danville, IL. 

Elizabeth Cheney is a nurse at Memorial Medical Center. She teaches modern and ballroom dance at Springfield Dance and choreographs for local theatres. Her numerous credits include Annie Get Your Gun, The King and I,Cabaret, and, most recently, Thoroughly Modern Millie. Her biggest fan is her daughter, Lola.

John Brombaugh’s Opus 35 pipe organ was designed and crafted explicitly for First Presbyterian Church and has attracted national and international attention since its installation in 2000. The organ’s general layout follows the traditions of northwest continental European organ building that was reaching its peak development by the mid-17th century. The Brombaugh Opus 35 has 3,250 pipes, 3 manuals and pedal with 46 stops.
Please visit our Brombaugh Organ page. here.